Monthly Archives: July 2010

John Redwood’s contribution to the Finance Bill debate, 6 July

Mr John Redwood (Wokingham) (Con): I remind the House that in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests I have declared that I offer business advice to an industrial and an investment company. In this debate, the Labour Treasury spokesman wanted to talk the economy into a double dip. He was trying to create a mood [...]

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Mr Gove’s problem

Michael Gove was right to apologise yesterday. When he made his statement to the Commons about Building Schools for the Future he should have shared with us the list of projects affected. Where his Labour predecessors might well have tried to “bury bad news” without volunteering a statement, he correctly appeared, but unfortunately did not [...]

Posted in Blog | 30 Comments

Creativity not confrontation

Ministers would be wise to tone down the rhetoric of massive cuts. They need to mobilise, energise and reform the public services. Labour made clear in their marathon moan in the Commons yesterday into the early hours of this morning that they are out to talk the economy down, highlight alleged huge cuts in jobs [...]

Posted in Blog | 28 Comments

How much are we spending on bricks and mortar?

On the Today programme this morning we debated the impact of public spending changes on the construction industry. I argued that according to the Office of Budget Responsibility – and most private sector forecasts – overall investment in the economy is forecast to increase every year to 2015 from next year. Business investment will rise [...]

Posted in Blog | 26 Comments

The Generation game

I promised David Willetts I would review his book “The Pinch” . The sub title tells the story – “How the baby boomers took their childrens future – and why they should give it back”. My first reaction was that he is wrong. His case that the baby boomers have amassed so much wealth in [...]

Posted in Blog | 38 Comments

Job losses and redundancies

Labour is out campaigning against 1.3 million alleged public sector job losses and compulsory redundancies. The government needs to put the record straight promptly before this camapign gets out of hand. The official figure for job reductions in the puboic sector over the next five years is 600,000 according to the Office of Budget responsibility. [...]

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40% cuts?

I hear Danny Alexander has asked each department to tell him how they might cut 40% from their budgets – save the ring fenced departments. I suppose it’s a useful starter to the conversation he needs to have with each to settle their figure for next year. I am not sure it is so useful [...]

Posted in Blog | 27 Comments

Regulating banks so we do get an economic recovery

The politics of bashing banks is good. They are widely blamed for the last collapse. The people who regulated them, and the Central Banks who set interest rates and rushed from boom to bust with the money supply have escaped much of the blame. Many of the commercial banks’ Directors and senior executives earned too [...]

Posted in Blog | 14 Comments

Change the banks if you want economic recovery

When Ken Clarke was Chancellor he was lucky. He took over after all the difficult decisions had been put in place by Norman Lamont to get the then deficit under control. Reducing the deficit was a necessary but not sufficient condition for recovery. He took over when world trade and the world economy were going [...]

Posted in Blog | 32 Comments

How a Prime Minister loses his job

The outgoing PM in Australia serves as a warning to incumbents. If you combine unpopular climate change legislation with a big tax increase, you lose your job. The legislation was defeated, and the tax increase on mining has now been abated.

Posted in Blog | 27 Comments
  • About John Redwood

    John Redwood has been the Member of Parliament for Wokingham since 1987. First attending Kent College, Canterbury, he graduated from Magdalen College, and has a DPhil from All Souls, Oxford. A businessman by background, he has been a director of NM Rothschild merchant bank and chairman of a quoted industrial PLC.
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